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countries recoveries were as follows: Mexico, four months and three days 
and four months and twelve days; Panama, four months and three days 
and one year and one month; Cuba, four months and sixteen days and four 
months and twenty-seven days; Nicaragua, two months; Honduras, four 
months and six days; Ecuador, one year and eight months; and Costa Rica, 
five years and nine months after banding. Long distance recoveries in the 
states were as follows: Texas, four months and twelve days; Louisiana, 
three months and twenty-five days; Virginia, two months and three days; 
Alabama, four months and five days; North Carolina, three months and 
eight days; New Jersey, two months. 
Two birds were captured aboard a fishing boat 150 miles from land in 
the Gulf of Mexico, three months and fifteen days and three months and 
eighteen days after banding. Ten birds were recovered in Florida varying 
from one month and twenty-seven days to one year and one month. 
Careful checking shows that 66 of our recoveries came through the 
same year the bird was banded, 16 the next year, four the second year, 
12 the third year, 9 the fourth year, 1 the fifth year, 1 the sixth year, 1 the 
seventh year, and two the eighth year after banding. Studying these 
recoveries very closely, it shows that most of the reports came from birds 
that were less than one year of age, and it is certainly interesting to know 
that they would travel as far as Nicaragua in two months, and to Florida 
in one month and twenty-seven days after banding as young birds unable 
to fly. 
Causes of the death of the various birds were given as follows: found 
dead, 71; caught and released, 18; recovered, 7; killed, 5; collected for 
museum specimens, 5; shot, 5; captured, 3; and one each as hit by storm, 
killed by hawk, found wounded, flew against building, and caught by a cat. 
In the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan areas we have banded birds on 
the following islands: Sulphur, Black River, Black River South Reef, Lone 
Tree, Charity, Little Charity, Scarecrow, Scarecrow South Reef, Scare- 
crow West Reef, Goose, and Green. While three of these had birds nesting 
on them quite consistently, the largest colony in any one year was on Lone 
Tree in 1932 when we banded 2300 birds. The next year the colony was 
ruined. Pailfuls of eggs were gathered, then dumped in piles. We assumed 
that the fishermen thought these birds were injurious to the fish industry, 
and for that reason were destroying the eggs. Immediately after I 
arrived home from our banding trip I reported this to the Washington 
office, and they in turn reported it to the U. S. Game Marshall through the 
State Conservation Department. Within two weeks conservation men were 
on the trail of these men and they apprehended three, who were heavily 
fined. This island never got back to what it had previously been, and in 
later years it grew so thick with bushes and weeds that the birds left the 
island almost completely by 1940. fe 
Some of the colonies have failed in certain years due to heavy storms. 
If the reef or island is low heavy storms will sometimes wash completely 
across, ruining the nests and eggs. 
